Bill Text: NY A06400 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes a direct support professional worker registry of persons who have successfully completed a direct support professional worker education or training program approved by the commissioner of mental health.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-26 - reported referred to ways and means [A06400 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06400-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6400

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SEAWRIGHT  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on People with Disabilities

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation  to  establishing  a
          direct support professional worker registry

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 13.43 of the mental hygiene law, as added by  chap-
     2  ter  209  of  the  laws  of  2018, is renumbered section 13.44 and a new
     3  section 13.45 is added to read as follows:
     4  § 13.45 Direct support professional worker registry.
     5    (a) As used in this  section,  the  following  terms  shall  have  the
     6  following meanings:
     7    (1)  "Provider" means an entity operating with a certificate issued by
     8  the commissioner pursuant to section 16.03 of this title.
     9    (2) "Direct support professional worker" or "worker" means any  person
    10  engaged  in  or  applying  to become engaged in providing direct support
    11  professional services, as defined by the office in regulation.
    12    (3) "Registry" means the direct support professional worker registry.
    13    (4) "Direct support professional worker education or training program"
    14  or "program" means a program that provides  education  or  training  for
    15  persons  to  meet  any  requirement established by the office for direct
    16  support professional worker services, which is approved by the office.
    17    (5) "Self-direction program" means the self-direction  program  imple-
    18  mented  by  the office pursuant to 42 CFR 441 Subpart M or any successor
    19  regulation.
    20    (b) The office shall develop and maintain  a  direct  support  profes-
    21  sional  worker  registry  of  persons  who have successfully completed a
    22  direct  support  professional  worker  education  or  training   program
    23  approved  by the commissioner or the accrediting body of other states or
    24  federal authorities, including the military. Information in the registry
    25  shall be accessible on the office's website by  direct  support  profes-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10170-02-3
        A. 6400                             2

     1  sional  workers,  persons  enrolled  in  the  self-direction program and
     2  providers licensed, funded, approved and/or  certified  by  the  office,
     3  subject to subdivision (h) of this section.
     4    (c) Upon successful completion of a direct support professional worker
     5  education  or training program approved by the commissioner, such worker
     6  shall be automatically enrolled in the registry; provided, however, that
     7  every worker shall have the option  to  opt-out  of  enrollment  in  the
     8  registry  in  a manner prescribed by the office. Provided, further, that
     9  the office, in consultation with the justice center for  the  protection
    10  of  people  with  special needs, shall deny enrollment of any worker who
    11  engaged in behavior that constituted abuse or serious neglect, as  those
    12  terms  are  defined  in  section  16.34  of  this title, of a patient or
    13  consumer in a program licensed, operated, or certified by the office.  A
    14  worker who is enrolled in the registry shall be notified of such enroll-
    15  ment  by  registered  or  certified  mail  within thirty days; provided,
    16  however, that the office may offer a paperless  electronic  notification
    17  option to a worker who successfully completes an approved direct support
    18  professional worker education or training program.
    19    (d)  No  charges  or fees shall be imposed on a direct support profes-
    20  sional worker for any costs for registration  in  or  removal  from  the
    21  registry.
    22    (e)  The  registry shall include, but not be limited to, the following
    23  information concerning each person  who  has  successfully  completed  a
    24  direct support professional worker training program and who has enrolled
    25  to be included in the registry:
    26    (1) full name;
    27    (2) home address, at the time of submission;
    28    (3) gender;
    29    (4) date of birth;
    30    (5) contact information;
    31    (6)  the  name  of  each  state-approved education or training program
    32  successfully completed, the name of the entity  providing  the  program,
    33  and the date on which such program was completed; and
    34    (7)  history  of  work in direct support professional services through
    35  any provider entity, including dates of  employment  and  name  of  such
    36  entity providing the employment.
    37    (f)  The  registry shall include a comprehensive list of all state-ap-
    38  proved  direct  support  professional  worker  education   or   training
    39  programs.  The list shall be updated at least monthly by the office. The
    40  office shall promptly submit updated information whenever such  informa-
    41  tion changes.
    42    (g)  The  office  shall  make  the  contact  details of direct support
    43  professional education or  training  programs  approved  by  the  office
    44  available on the office's website and readily accessible by the public.
    45    (h)  (1) A direct support professional worker may access or obtain any
    46  information in the worker's own listing in the registry.
    47    (2) A provider entity may submit a request, on a  form  prescribed  by
    48  the office, to access or obtain any information in the registry relating
    49  to  any  person a provider entity employs or is considering employing to
    50  provide direct support professional services, provided, however, that  a
    51  provider entity shall present clear evidence of consideration of employ-
    52  ment or current employment of such person in such form prescribed by the
    53  office, provided, further, that the commissioner may deny such access to
    54  the registry upon a determination by the commissioner that such provider
    55  entity is maliciously accessing the registry.
        A. 6400                             3

     1    (3)  An  individual enrolled in a self-direction program may access or
     2  obtain any information in the registry relating to any person  an  indi-
     3  vidual  in self-direction employs or is considering employing to provide
     4  direct support professional services.
     5    (4)  The  office  shall include security mechanisms in the registry to
     6  implement the provisions of this subdivision and to maintain a record of
     7  accessing or obtaining information from the registry by  every  provider
     8  entity.
     9    (i) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations reasonably
    10  necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
    11    §  2.  This act shall take effect June 1, 2024. Effective immediately,
    12  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
    13  sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
    14  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.